Senegal: Ahead of Eid, high wheat prices affect consumers

Like nearly 2 billion Muslims around the world, Senegalese faithful will celebrate in just a few days the end of Ramadan. Ahead of the feast locally known as Korité and which marks the end of a month of fasting, many households spend more.

If the national statistics agency recorded a rise in the inflation rate of 2.2% in 2021, the figures could be higher for 2022. Consumers associations are already pointing at new hardships.

"Wheat prices were high in the past due to rising freight rates amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Momar Ndao, president, Consumers Association of Senegal explains. In response to the rising wheat prices, we also had to take measures to ease difficulties on our millers. We all hoped to see the prices drop, unfortunately they soared again when the conflict between Russia and Ukraine erupted."

The conflict has indeed further destabilized the world food supply chain, hitting countries which heavily rely on imports. In Senegal for example, nearly 60 percent of the wheat came from Russi and Ukraine in 2021.

Last month, the president of the Consumers Association of Senegal urged Senegalese to report to the authorities all sellers overcharging certain products.